Last Updated on November 27, 2023 by Cathy
You don’t have to venture deep into the woods to get bit by a tick. Ticks are sneaky, most people don’t realize they have a tick until they see it attached to their skin. Sometimes ticks are never found and they fall off after they gorge themselves with blood.
It’s always creepy when you find a bloodsucking tick attached to your skin. Ticks can transmit diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. These diseases can cause a fever, headache, and a rash after being bit.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burgdoferi. It’s spread by ticks like the black-legged or deer ticks but not all ticks carry diseases. However, reports of Lyme disease is on the rise. Ticks like warm-blooded mammals such as humans, dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. They can transfer from one host to another. Your dog or cat could bring a tick into your home and transfer it to you.
How to Remove a Tick
If you find a tick attached to you or your pet you should remove it quickly.
- Using tweezers grab the tick as close to the skin as possible
- Pull firmly upward away from the skin without twisting
- Thoroughly wash the area where it was bitten with warm soapy water
If you have trouble removing the tick you can try using a piece of dental floss or a credit card. For small or stubborn ticks you may need to contact your doctor. Don’t rip the tick off or the head will remain and you will then need to dig it out like a splinter.
Don’t use a hot match, it can cause the tick to secrete saliva increasing your risk of disease. Once you’ve removed the tick dispose of it properly like flushing it down the toilet. You could also save the tick in a jar with rubbing alcohol for identification later if you get sick.
Symptoms of Lyme disease:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Headache
- Joint pain
- Loss of appetite
- Muscle aches
- Swollen lymph nodes
Lyme disease usually appears with a “bull’s eye rash” up to two weeks after being bit. But not everyone shows noticeable symptoms. It is hard to diagnose since blood tests can often give false results. Normally, doctors prescribe antibiotics in the early stages. If it’s been more than three weeks the odds of recovery are less likely. Unfortunately, antibiotics kill the good bacteria in your gut. Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a poor balance of gut bacteria.
The imbalanced gut microbiome can lead to:
- Antibiotic resistance
- Bacterial overgrowth
- Chronic immune dysfunction
- Yeast overgrowth (Candida)
If left untreated, Lyme disease can damage the heart, joints, and nervous system. Later symptoms of Lyme disease include dizziness, numbness, and tingling. Doctors sometimes diagnose a patient with MS when it’s actually Lyme disease.
Lyme Disease and MS
Lyme disease can cause neurological symptoms similar to MS. Such as blurred vision caused by optic neuritis, brain fog, and weakness. According to the National MS Society “Lyme disease is unlikely to be a significant factor.” However, Dr. Alan MacDonald received ten specimens from deceased MS patients. All ten specimens “showed evidence of Borrelia-infected nematodes (Lyme bacteria).
“Both the worms and the Borrelia pathogens can cause devastating brain damage,” said MacDonald. “Current tests, like the ELISA and Western blot, do not adequately detect the presence of Borrelia bacteria.” MacDonald says his discovery also shows “while patients are wrongly declared free of Lyme and other tick-borne infections, in reality, too often they contract serious neurodegenerative diseases which can kill them.”
Lyme disease is an evasive organism. It hides itself making it very difficult to diagnose. Plus, conventional doctors aren’t always willing to listen to their patients. Chronic Lyme disease isn’t recognized as an illness.
When I was 12 years old I found a tick attached to the back of my neck. Three years later I went blind due to optic neuritis, a symptom of both MS and Lyme disease. Plus, the lymph node where the tick bit me was still swollen after three years.
When I asked my family practitioner if it could possibly be Lyme disease he brushed me off. He told me that Lyme disease didn’t exist in our state. Granted, the majority of Lyme disease is in the northeastern states, but it’s found in most states.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 30,000 new cases each year. But only a fraction of these get reported. They believe the number is closer to 300,000 in the U.S. alone.
“Results of these studies suggest that the number of people diagnosed with Lyme disease each year in the United States is around 300,000.”
– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Prevention
Prevention of getting bit in the first place is key to avoiding Lyme disease. Ticks are most active during spring and summer. If you go in tick-prone areas wear light-colored clothes so they are easier to spot.
Ticks don’t fly instead they crawl or drop onto their host. When walking through areas with ticks keep your pant legs tucked inside your socks or tall boots. Rubber boots are also a good option making it harder for ticks to climb on.
Store-bought tick repellents contain chemical-based insecticides. Which is something I don’t like putting on my skin. Or my pets since they clean themselves using their tongue. There are a lot of natural anti-tick recipes on the internet but none of them is 100% proven to work.
I like to use peppermint essential oil. Lavender and lemongrass are other good options. I live in a rural area that has lots of rodents like mice. We also have mousers (cats) so we don’t want to use poison that would hurt our cats. Peppermint oil also keeps mice away.
Not all essential oils are safe for pets. Always check with your veterinarian or a reliable source first. For my dog I use rose geranium oil. It’s very strong smelling so I don’t use a lot since his sense of smell is a lot stronger than humans.
Always check your body and hair when coming indoors – ticks like to hide. Check your hairline, your neck, or behind your ears. Thoroughly shake off your clothes to remove any unwanted hitchhikers (ticks). Also, thoroughly check your pet’s entire body.
Road to Recovery
Most importantly, you need to improve your diet and start living a healthy lifestyle. Your body can’t fight off Borrelia and other sneaky microbes if you continue your poor habits. A poor diet, antibiotics, and stress destroyed my gut. It was a challenge for me to change my diet and lifestyle at first. And stress has always set me back. But with time, I’ve learned to take control of my health. If you believe you may have chronic Lyme disease contact a doctor trained in tick-borne diseases.
Quick Links To Information In This Post:
Gut Health And Multiple Sclerosis
Antibiotics And Gut Health
How Stress Can Make You Sick
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Resources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15617845/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3225603/
https://petguide.com/health/dog/tick-talk-do-all-natural-diy-tick-repellents-really-work/
